Baird denies Tories had role in 'illegal' ads

Federal Environment Minister John Baird shrugged off Liberal
allegations in the House of Commons on Tuesday that the Conservative
party was involved in an "illegal" radio ad campaign in key Ontario
markets during the last federal election that attacked the previous
government's climate change policies.

By The Calgary HeraldApril 16, 2008

Federal Environment Minister John Baird shrugged off Liberal allegations in the House of Commons on Tuesday that the Conservative party was involved in an "illegal" radio ad campaign in key Ontario markets during the last federal election that attacked the previous government's climate change policies.

Liberal environment critic David McGuinty said an elaborate system which allowed money to flow from a community charity organization through the University of Calgary to finance activities of an anti-Kyoto group called the Friends of Science involved several people with ties to the federal Conservative party.

The Friends of Science, made up of former oil industry insiders and academics who question whether human activity is responsible for global warming of the past century, co-ordinated the ad campaign alongside a U of C researcher, who set up trust accounts in 2004 for "Research on the Climate-Change Debate" and an educational video, according to an internal audit, released Monday by the university.

The audit concluded that the accounts were used to make "payments to Morten Paulsen Consulting for radio ads," which ran in Peterborough, Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, London and Thunder Bay. Paulsen, who is now a senior vice-president and general manager of the Fleishman-Hillard marketing firm, was also a volunteer spokesman for the Conservative party during the 2005-06 election campaign.

"A research trust at the University of Calgary was misused to fund illegal advertising during the last federal election campaign," McGuinty said in the Commons. He also alleged that Baird oversaw the radio ad campaign with the Friends of Science and that the group is influencing him to adopt weak climate change policies.

But Baird ridiculed the Liberal allegations, suggesting the party was imagining scandals instead of concentrating on the priorities of Canadians.

"The member for Ottawa Centre (McGuinty) puts on his tinfoil hat and develops these great theories," he said.

The university blacked out 16 sections of the audit, saying the information could "interfere with or harm an ongoing law enforcement investigation," but it confirmed it had contacted Elections Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency and a review is ongoing.

Reached Tuesday, U of C political scientist Barry Cooper acknowledged he set up the fund but said his work was a legitimate academic pursuit exploring the climate change debate. He said it's "completely untrue" the ads were orchestrated by the Tories, and his ties to Prime Minister Stephen Harper have been overstated in the media.

Cooper said the radio ads -- which questioned Liberal government spending and policy on climate change, and promoted the Friends of Science -- were not partisan but were intended to promote his video. He said he didn't know they would run during the election.

Cooper, a freelance columnist for the Herald, added that he is not a member of Friends of Science. "They were a source of funds," he said.

In hindsight, Cooper said he did make mistakes -- he said the ads didn't distinguish between his work and the Friends of Science organization itself. "It just never occurred to me there was a problem," he said. "At the end of the day, I think the university's oversight procedures will be improved by this."

He said the university, Elections Canada and Canada Revenue Agency are only looking into the matter because they are being pressured by two climate change websites -- SourceWatch.org and desmogblog.com -- and he believes the reviews will go nowhere.

U of C general counsel Charlene Anderson said no disciplinary action is planned "at this time," but "that might change at any time so the university is looking into that."

The 25-page university audit report, released to the public Monday, also raised other issues, including that university purchasing and contracting policies were not followed, and Cooper employed his wife and daughter as research assistants.

The report said he got verbal approval from his department head, but not "the appropriate approval" according to the university's policies on employing family members.

Cooper said Tuesday he wasn't aware of the university's formal regulations on hiring family members.

The report indicates the university knew as early as 2005 that its name was being used in connection with the video, as it sent a letter asking that the Friends of Science stop using the U of C name or logo in its promotions.

Friends of Science president Douglas Leahey told Canwest News Service on Tuesday he couldn't comment on the audit and he was not aware of any law enforcement or Elections Canada officials contacting his group.

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